Thursday, April 30, 2015

Darbury, England, 1814Amelia Barrett gave her word. Keeping it could cost her everything.Amelia
Barrett, heiress to an estate nestled in the English moors, defies
family expectations and promises to raise her dying friends baby.
She'll risk everything to keep her word even to the point of proposing
to the child's father a sea captain she's never met.When the
child vanishes with little more than an ominous ransom note hinting at
her whereabouts, Amelia and Graham are driven to test the boundaries of
their love for this little one.Amelia's detailed plans would
normally see her through any trial, but now, desperate and shaken, she's
forced to examine her soul and face her one weakness: pride.Graham's
strength and self-control have served him well and earned him much
respect, but chasing perfection has kept him a prisoner of his own
discipline. And away from the family he has sworn to love and protect.Both must learn to have faith and relinquish control so they can embrace the future ahead of them.My
kind of book! It grabbed my attention from the first lines and I
eagerly returned to its pages. Julie Klassen, Best-Selling,
Award-Winning AuthorIf you are a fan of Jane Austen and Jane Eyre, you will love Sarah E. Ladd's debut. USAToday.com

About the author

Sarah E. Ladd received the 2011 Genesis Award in historical romance for
The Heiress of Winterwood. She is a graduate of Ball State University
and has more than ten years of marketing experience. Sarah lives in
Indiana with her amazing husband, sweet daughter, and spunky Golden
Retriever.Links Facebook: SarahLaddAuthor Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/k7yz7pxTwitter: @SarahLaddAuthor

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Sixteen-year-old Kitty Lung has everyone convinced she’s a normal teen—not a secret government operative, not the one charged with protecting the president’s son, and certainly not a were-dragon. The only one she trusts with the truth is her best friend—and secret crush—the über-hot Bulisani Mathe.

Then a junior operative breaks Rule Number One by changing into his dragon form in public—on Kitty’s watch—and suddenly, the world knows. About dragons. About the Draconic Intelligence Command (DIC) Kitty works for. About Kitty herself.

Now the government is hunting down and incarcerating dragons to stop a public panic, and a new shape-shifting enemy has kidnapped the president’s son. Kitty and Bulisani are the last free dragons, wanted by both their allies and their enemies. If they can’t rescue the president’s son and liberate their fellow dragons before getting caught themselves, dragons might never live free again.

Sarah is a 30-something YA author who currently lives in Orlando, FL with a 60-lb mutt who thinks he's a chihuahua. She believes that some boys are worth trusting, all girls have power, and dragons are people too.

She's a proud member of the Gator Nation and has a BS in Mechanical Engineering, but has switched careers entirely. She now works as an Event Coordinator for a County Library and as a freelance book publicist and author's assistant. She also blogs at YAtopia and video blogs at the YA Rebels.

I am so
excited that AN EMBER IN THE ASHES
by Sabaa Tahir releases today and that I get to share the news, along with a
special introduction from Sabaa herself!

If you
haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book by Author Sabaa Tahir, be sure to
check out all the details below.

This blitz
also includes a giveaway for a signed copies of the book and some of those
awesome sword letter openers we’ve seen around courtesy of Sabaa, Penguin Teen,
and Rockstar Book Tours. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the
Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

A letter from Sabaa Tahir.

Dear
Readers,

Today, my
“baby” AN EMBER IN THE ASHES is finally out in the world! From inception to pub
date, this journey took eight years. And what a journey it was: writing,
rewriting, revising, editing, querying, submitting; Meeting other debuts,
bloggers, booksellers and librarians, and hearing their thoughts on EMBER.
There aren’t enough superlatives to describe the radness.

And now, the
book is here! I am so excited to see it in the hands of readers. I hope you
enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. To celebrate release day, I’m
giving away two signed, first-edition hardcovers of the book. Details below!

Set in a
terrifyingly brutal Rome-like world, An Ember in the Ashes is an epic fantasy
debut about an orphan fighting for her family and a soldier fighting for his
freedom. It’s a story that’s literally burning to be told.

LAIA is a
Scholar living under the iron-fisted rule of the Martial Empire. When her
brother is arrested for treason, Laia goes undercover as a slave at the
empire’s greatest military academy in exchange for assistance from rebel
Scholars who claim that they will help to save her brother from execution.

ELIAS is the
academy’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias is considering
deserting the military, but before he can, he’s ordered to participate in a
ruthless contest to choose the next Martial emperor.

When Laia
and Elias’s paths cross at the academy, they find that their destinies are more
intertwined than either could have imagined and that their choices will change
the future of the empire itself.

Check out the book trailer!

About Sabaa:

Sabaa Tahir grew up in California’s Mojave Desert at her family’s 18-room
motel. There, she spent her time devouring fantasy novels, raiding her
brother’s comic book stash and playing guitar badly. She began writing An Ember
in the Ashes while working nights as a newspaper editor. She likes thunderous
indie rock, garish socks and all things nerd. Sabaa currently lives in the San
Francisco Bay Area with her family.

Monday, April 27, 2015

I'm excited to share the cover reveal of The Tale of Willaby Creek by Victoria Lindstrom! This is a middle grade adventure fantasy that releases in June 2015.

About the Book:

A magical tale of amazing sacrifice...When a violent windstorm strikes an enchanted rain forest many of the woodland creatures of Willaby Creek are stranded, injured, or lost forever to the frenzied force of the tempest. Basil, a black bear full of doubt and fear, becomes the unlikely leader to head the woodland creatures' rescue. He is joined by Daphne, a spunky blue dryad; Oliver, a wise horned owl; Elbert, a noble elk; and a host of other creatures that inhabit the enchanted rain forest.Dangerous twists and turns in this animal adventure fantasy cause Basil to discover a courage, and a conviction, he never knew he had. The answers to the ancient mysteries in this magical tale emerge in an extraordinary finale under the tall timbers of the hidden hinterland.

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About the Author:

VICTORIA LINDSTROM is a full-time writer, a voracious reader, and the author of the children's picture book, The Scandinavian Santa. She loves to wander through the woods, capture the beauty of Nature in photographs, and visit museums and fine art galleries. She and her husband, Michael, live near the shore of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest. You may visit Victoria at: www.victorialindstrom.com

Friday, April 24, 2015

About the Book

Title: Maisy and the Missing Mice (The Maisy Files) | Author: Elizabeth Woodrum | Publication Date:September 24, 2013 | Publisher: Independent | Pages: 75 | Recommended Ages: 6 to 10Summary: Maisy Sawyer is not your average fourth grade student. She is a detective with a special skill for solving mysteries. She loves black and white mystery movies, cherry lollipops, and her dog, Reesie. When a thief known as The Black Boot steals the school's mascots and her lollipops, Maisy sets out to solve the case. Can she help return the mice to their home in the science lab? Will she ever see her beloved lollipops again? Find out in the first book in The Maisy Files series.

Book Trailer

Purchase

* NOTE: Available for only 99 cents through Amazon. OR, you can receive 15% off the regular price of the print version of Maisy and the Missing Miceby visiting https://www.createspace.com/4368649 in the month of March and entering the code RXJN6DUZ upon checking out.

The Buzz

"Woodrum certainly knows her target audience and does a very nice job with the character development of Maisy. This is an incredibly kid-friendly story that makes a great introduction to the genre of mystery for newly independent readers. It's a quick page turning read that encourages kids to think outside of the box." ~ The Children's Book Review

"My name is Kat. I am 9 years old. I would rate this a five because I like everything about it, the mystery the most. It was fun to read. My favorite part was the mystery and the end. I love this book so much. I think other kids would love it too because it has mystery and most kids would like mystery books. Most mystery books have a good mystery. I would love to read the whole series." ~ 5 Star Review, Heather A., Amazon

"I knew I would love this book simply because I knew it would remind me of the mystery books I read in my childhood. I really love how much trust the teachers and community as a whole put in Maisy. She is well deserving of their admiration as the way she finds clues and finds the mascot for the school is well thought out. This is a story any child would love to read. I hope Maisy continues to solve mysteries..." ~ 5 Star Review, Josh, Amazon

About the Author: Elizabeth Woodrum

Elizabeth Woodrum is an elementary teacher in Ohio. She came to love writing when she was in elementary school, but more recently began writing material for use in her classroom. From that writing, grew the desire to write books for the general population of children and adults alike. The Maisy Files, a children's series, is the first series that she has published. The series currently has one book, Maisy and the Missing Mice. Elizabeth plans to add more books to the series, and would also like to publish books for adults in the future.
As a reader, Elizabeth prefers the fantasy genre, but she enjoys realistic fiction as well. Some of her favorite authors include JK Rowling, Stephenie Meyer, Rick Riordan, Veronica Roth, Suzanne Collins, and Nicholas Sparks. Originally from Indiana, Elizabeth currently resides near Dayton, Ohio with her two pets: a cat named Butterscotch and a dog named Reese Cup.

Thursday, April 23, 2015

About the Book

Title: Good Night, Animal World: A Kids Yoga Bedtime Story | Author: Giselle Shardlow | Illustrator: Emily Gedzyk | Publication Date: September 20, 2013 | Publisher: Company: Kids Yoga Stories LLC | Pages: 32 | Recommended Ages: 2.5 to 6 years
Summary: Say good night to the animals of the world! Calm your mind and body before bedtime by taking a journey around the world with this kids yoga storybook. Join six Kids Yoga Stories characters as you perch like a bald eagle, crouch like a tiger, and curl up like a sloth. The book includes a list of Kids Yoga Poses and a Parent Guide with tips on creating a successful bedtime experience. Learn something new, explore movement, and unwind together before bedtime!

Interview with Giselle Shardlow

As a child, what did you want to do when you
grew up?

I always wanted to be a
teacher, even when I was very young.As
a preteen, I babysat and helped coach other young figure skaters.In the summers, I worked with primary school-aged
children at a day camp.I remember the
rewarding feeling of impacting children’s learning.Working with children has always been my
passion.

What
inspired you to write books?

I’ve practiced yoga since
I was a little girl doing yoga with my mother. After I took yoga teacher training in 2005, I saw
the possibility of bringing this ancient wisdom to children in a fun and
meaningful way.At that time, I had been
teaching internationally for eight years, and I’d always pondered what makes
children happy.I noticed that movement,
storytelling, and bonding together (link:
http://www.kidsyogastories.com/free-resources/benefits)
brought them joy. So I began to write
yoga stories that incorporated my teaching, traveling, and yoga
experience.The outlines for the stories
flooded out onto the paper.Once I was
inspired to write the stories, I couldn’t stop!

What
is the best compliment you’ve received as an author?

The best compliments come
from parents and teachers whose children and students love going on pretend
journeys around the world through movement and story.Seeing pictures of children in yoga poses
always warms my heart.Parents are happy
that their children are engaging in healthy activities while reading and having
fun. I love that the books provide a
win-win for the adults and children.

But, the best email I
received from a customer was regarding the book Good Night, Animal World(link:
http://www.kidsyogastories.com/product/good-night-animal-world/
).A mom wrote to say that her family
was going through a relocation, and their lives were unsettled, stressful, and
uncertain.She went on to say that the
bedtime yoga story had become a nightly routine and served as a stable activity
for her young child.After reading and
acting out the animal poses, her daughter fell asleep peacefully without the
stresses of their current situation.That
email will stay with me forever.

What is the toughest criticism you’ve received
as an author?

Great timing!I recently met with a book critic who
critiqued each of the yoga stories for their layout, illustrations, writing, and
front covers.It was tough to hear
someone go through each book with such criticism, but I was very grateful to
have honest and direct feedback.My goal
is to significantly improve each book that I write, so her constructive
criticism was just what I needed to hear.

How
do you react to a bad review?

To be honest, I have been
blessed with positive reviews since publishing the books.However, one of the Spanish-language yoga
books did receive a bad review on Amazon.The customer described a printing issue with the book.I immediately called my publisher and Amazon,
but unfortunately, due to privacy issues (which were understandable), I couldn’t
do anything to help the customer.I
wrote a comment on her review that I would personally send her a new copy, but
I didn’t hear back.That situation broke
my heart.I certainly hope that Amazon
helped her obtain a new copy.

What
advice would you give aspiring children’s book authors?

Do it!As a former teacher, I think there is lots of
room for quality children’s literature with a positive life message.Every book that I read to the children in the
classroom had a teachable moment, led to a stimulating discussion, or led into
an extension activity.I used books as
springboards for discussion about the world.

When I write my yoga
stories (link:http://www.kidsyogastories.com/store
), I think about 4 P’s: passion, purpose, people, and progressiveness.Am I writing about something that I’m
passionate about?What’s the purpose of
the book?How does the book make a
difference to the people who are reading the book?Is the book unique, creative, and
progressive?Thinking of these four
components helps keep me focused and ensures that the books are beneficial to
the readers.

My advice to aspiring
children’s book writers is to write books that might impact the world in a
positive way.Write from your heart and
get lots of feedback from family and friends.Keep writing, sharing, and editing to continuously improve your
stories.Remember that writing your book
is only the first step; spreading the word about your book is both challenging
and rewarding.Most importantly, just
start, and when you’ve started, keep going!

The Buzz

"This book has been so amazing for my 2.5 year old daughter! The illustrations are adorable! She is always so rambunctious at bedtime and this lets her get out some of that excess energy. She loves the book so much that this has been one we read every night. It helps my daughter fall asleep faster which means more time for mom in the evenings." ~ 5 Star Review, cwalt047, Amazon

"Another GREAT book!! I used this book for my kids yoga classes for ages 2-5 years old. After a very active yoga class, we read this book and did the yoga poses before the resting portion of the class. My little yogis loved the pictures and saying Good Night to all of the animals one by one. I played a calming song with some animal noises in the background and we were then able to quiet our minds and bodies for the pose of rest. I think this will become a regular pre-resting story for my classes with this age group. My 5 year old son loves to read this book again and again too! Keep the great books coming!" ~ 5 Star Review, Stacy Daniels - Kids Yoga Teacher, Amazon

"What a delightful book to get young children reading and moving in a wind-down, calming story about saying goodnight to the animals of the world. I am a k-12 Reading Certified teacher who blogs about parenting at The Educator's Spin On It. I am big fan of literacy activities that combine movement and geography in a loving parent / child interaction experience and Good night, Animal World does just that. This book would be a great addition to your book shelf." ~ 5 Star Review, Amanda at The Educators' Spin On It, Amazon

About the Author: Giselle Shardlow

Giselle Shardlow is the author of Kids Yoga Stories. Her yoga-inspired children’s books get children moving, learning, and having fun. Giselle draws from her experiences as a teacher, traveler, yogi, and mom to write the stories found at www.kidsyogastories.com or on Amazon (amazon.com/author/giselleshardlow) worldwide.

About the Book

Title: Goodnight, Sleep Tight: What a Wonderful Flight | Author: Louise Lintvelt | Illustrator: Do Thai Thanh | Publication Date: April 16, 2014 | Publisher: eBookPartnership.com | Number of pages: 30 | Recommended age: 3 to 8
Summary:
After an exciting flight, it is time to say goodnight.
The tired sun sets overhead.
Sleepy aircraft get ready for bed.
They slow their propellers and park their wings.
Time to snuggle up and tuck in...Goodnight, Sleep Tight.
The charming illustrations and sweet rhyming text are sure to be a delight for sleepy aircraft enthusiasts.

Purchase

Guest Post

Writing Picture Books for Children

Tips From an Independently Published Author

I do not profess to have the magic formula that will make
your children’s book a runaway success. Infact after reading many, many
incredibly successful children’s books, I am still no closer to understanding
why some good books are more successful than others.

I love picture books and since having my daughter I have
spent a lot more time enjoying children’s books. Having read a number of
popular and not-so-popular children’s books I have come to find that children
love simple stories, written with rhythm/meter using colourful illustrations
which are simplistic yet understatedly detailed. In early 2013 I dived in head
first so to speak and immersed myself in the wonderful world of writing and
designing picture books. I have independently published six picture books over
the last year and have two new projects which will be published later this
year.

Looking back on the year that has passed, I can definitely
say that, when I first started I had absolutely no idea what I was letting
myself in for! There are so many things that need to be considered when
publishing a picture book and I was initially quite overwhelmed. I learnt a lot
along the way and made many mistakes but the experience has been exceptionally
rewarding. I breathed a huge sigh of relief when my first book was published
only to find that I had not considered one of the most crucial aspects at all –
marketing. I have only just started to get a handle on this aspect of the
publishing business which is proving to be quite a challenge, but one that I most
certainly look forward to. Publishing is after all exactly that – a business.

Publishing books independently is most certainly not for the
faint hearted, it requires a lot of time, attention to detail and a very thick
skin. This post aims to give a summary of things to consider when independently
publishing a picture book.

Do lots of research

If you want to write books for children a great starting
point is to read lots and lots and lots of children’s books. It is important to
learn as much as possible about writing picture books. There are many things to
consider and the list below outlines some of things you will need to research
for your picture book.

If you plan on publishing independently, it is advisable to
spend time finding a fantastic illustrator. You will need to know what style of
illustration you are aiming for before you start looking for an illustrator.

Layout for text and images

Through my picture book self-publishing journey over the last
year, I have come to realise that layout is very, very important! Picture books
generally have 250 – 1000 words and come in 3 standard lengths namely, 24
pages, 32 pages and 42pages (32 page picture books are by far the most common).
When working with your illustrator it is important to know the trim size for
your book, whether illustrations are single spread or double spread and whether
or not your illustrations are full bleed or not. You need to decide all of this
before doing the illustrations as this will determine the number and size of
illustrations for your book.

I would also advise that you go through a storyboarding
process on the rough pencil sketches before your illustrator proceeds with
working on the full colour illustrations. During the storyboarding process you
need to make sure that there is enough space to place your text and you need to
ensure that important details in the illustrations are not lost or obscured in
the centre fold of the book.

Storyline/Concept

This is obviously the most important and should be considered
quite carefully. Choosing your story is the starting point and more often than
not you will find that there are many published books that are similar or
related to the story you want to publish. When an idea for a new book pops into
my head, the first thing I do is hit the amazon search function and look for
similar books using key words and tags that best describe the book I want to
write. I read the descriptions and use the look inside function to get an idea
of the storyline, concept and illustration style, to make sure that I am not
simply producing another version of a book that already exists.

Target age group

Choosing a target age group before you write your book is
quite important, because the target age group will influence both word choice
and illustration style. Knowing that the book is aimed at 3-5 year olds rather
than 6-8 year olds would mean that you would opt for simpler words and
sentences with illustrations that appeal to toddlers.

Illustration style

This can make or break a picture book. Picture books are all
about visual storytelling and the illustrations need to strongly support and
enhance the text.

Produce a quality product

I can’t say this enough, quality is everything! There are
many independently published books on the market today with varying quality.
Some of the books are absolutely terrible with glaringly obvious grammar
mistakes, spelling errors, inferior illustrations and poorly considered
layouts. While others are superbly crafted with mesmerizing illustrations and
layouts that would rival that of any traditionally published book.

It is important that you aim for your independently published
books to be of the highest quality. Producing a quality book often requires a
lot more time and not as much money as you think. My tips to ensure that you produce
a good quality product are as follows:

Engage the services of an editor. Another great resource is
to make use of a Beta reading service such as the one offered on the Mother and
Daughter book reviews website

Look for a great up and coming illustrator that charges
reasonable rates on sites like Behance and Freelanced.

Spend time doing storyboards to perfect your layout

If you wish to publish a picture book as an eBook, have it
converted to a fixed layout format. I used a company called eBook Partnership
and I was very happy with the service and end result.

Include fun activities to go with your book

A lot of children get introduced to reading at school.
Picture books are a very popular means of introducing early readers to books
and are used quite often in classrooms around the world. It is always nice for
teachers and children to have a classroom activity to go with a book. In
addition to being useful in classrooms, these activities will also be welcomed
by Mom’s who encourage crafting and other fun activities at home. I have
started compiling some activities to go with my books on my website. Some
activities for you to consider are:

Illustrations from the book that can be used for
colouring-in activities.

Paper plate animal craft activities. I have compiled a make
your own paper plate giraffe/ladybird for my book, How Andrew Got His Spots.

A story wheel template that can be used in classrooms to
help children retell a story. I have created a story wheel template for my
book, How Andrew Got His Spots.

Craft activities based on a theme in your book such as the
make your own clothespin airplane

Audio narration, videos and songs.

Marketing

Marketing an independently published book is a lot more
challenging than I had initially anticipated. It is very difficult to sell
books when you are a new author, especially when you do not have a large
publishing house to assist with marketing efforts. Selling your books is all
about discoverability and creating a brand. You need to establish a presence in
the author community, bring your books to the attention of readers and ensure
that you have sufficient brand credibility so that readers will consider buying
your product.

Blogging on Goodreads

Goodreads giveaways to obtain book exposure, this is not
really a way to dramatically increase sales but it does create a lot of book
shelving on too read lists.

Book tours with companies that specialize in your Genre.
For children’s books this is most important as many book tour companies do not
really specialize in children’s books.

Create a website and upload useful blog content such as
activities that go with your book or read along versions of your book on YouTube.

Offer free content

Interact with your readers

Your readers need to be able to find you and your books. The
age of the internet has brought about a multitude of platforms on which to
interact with readers. It is important to establish an online presence to that
your readers are easily able to interact with you. It is also important to
consider the platforms carefully so as to select those that you will easily be
able to update and interact on. Having a non-active profile is probably worse
than not having one at all. That being said it is important to remember that
good old fashioned face to face interaction is just as important so don’t
forget to interact with your readers in real life too!

Online Platforms

Goodreads

Amazon author profile page

Author website

Facebook page

Google+

Twitter

Face to Face Interaction

School visits

Library visits

Book readings

Book launches

About the Author: Louise Lintvelt

I am from South Africa and I live in a city called Pretoria. I am a Chemical Engineer by day and a children’s book writer by night. I am married to a wonderful man and we have a beautiful two year old daughter called Allegra. I love writing stories for my daughter, who is a constant inspiration.
I have always loved reading. My childhood was filled with books and you would often find me crouched the corner of my room devouring the pages of my favourite book. I lived for Tuesday mornings as this would bring with it the excitement of a trip to the local library for story hour and the opportunity to take home a new book. I was the local librarian’s worst nightmare. I would arrive a few minutes early to check that she had not mistakenly chosen a book that had already been read in story hour.
I was a very bossy three year old with an insatiable appetite for books! This has not really changed much in the last twenty seven years. Dr. Seuss was my absolute favourite and to say that my copy of One, Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish Blue Fish was well read would be an understatement.
When it comes to writing, my daughter is my biggest inspiration. I love seeing her face light up with excitement when we sit down to read a book before bedtime. My daughter was fascinated by giraffes after we went on a safari trip in late 2012. This planted the seed for my picture book called How Andrew Got His Spots which is a rhyming adaptation of a story I originally wrote in the third grade. My daughter has since grown into a healthy two year old with a passion for aircraft which was the inspiration for writing Goodnight, Sleep tight, What a Wonderful Flight.
I am sure that there are many parents in the world (myself included), who are quite decidedly sick and tired of reading the same favourite picture book night after night. I believe that the words of Oscar Wilde best describe how children should feel about picture books when he said, If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.
Happy Reading!

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